@rmftucker My dad was a journaler. He started in high school, and continued until not long before his death at 96 yrs young, in 2012. But, I never saw what he wrote. He kept those volumes tucked away somewhere. His writings included Pearl Harbor invasion onboard the USS Enterprise, his work in the defense industry, caretaking of my mother during her 10 yrs of Alzheimer's and dementia. He said he would leave them to me but he never put it in writing. My older sister has those ratings and she refuses to share them with me, even for a look through. You are so lucky that your mother saved that for you.
Ginger